Game device, recording medium, and image processing method for displaying a projected image object

ABSTRACT

The following types of processing are provided in the present invention. 1) Projection processing in which a shadow projected onto the ground of a flying object flying through a virtual space is prevented from becoming too small. 2) Viewpoint moving processing in which a viewpoint is moved automatically so that a character to be displayed is accommodated within the field of vision of the viewpoint at all times. 3) Semi-transparentizing processing in which, when display objects overlap, the display object with the smaller surface area according to [a comparison of] the displayed surface area is made semi-transparent. 4) Relative strength judgment processing in which the relative strength of teams in a team competition is determined on the basis of the sum of the fighting abilities. 5) Leader setting processing in which a leader character is determined and the outcome of the game is judged according to whether or not the leader character is active. 6) Fighting strength balance adjusting processing for adjusting the balance of fighting strength between the teams. 7) Delay preventing processing for causing a communication data receiving side to return a processing result, whereby processing on a transmission side is advanced in response thereto. By means of this processing series, problems specified in conventional communication game systems regarding game screen display, judgments of the relative strength of teams, and game data communication delays can be amended, enabling an improvement in the game quality of a team competition.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a communication game system in whichgame devices are connected to each other via a network. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to a communication gamesystem suitable for a competitive communication game in which aplurality of players form a single team, each manipulating his or herown character, and teams compete for victory.

BACKGROUND ART

Communication game systems are known in which game devices operated byindividual players are connected via a network such that a competitivegame can be executed among players in remote locations.

This type of communication game system is constructed such that when arequest to compete is placed to one game device from another gamedevice, the requested game device manages a transaction to accept acompetition with the game device which placed the request. Thus acompetitive game can be played between the two game devices whiletransceiving commands and game data. By means of this type ofcommunication game system, a player can enjoy a game competition withanother player in a remote location.

In communication game systems up to the present, however, when acompetitive game in which a plurality of players form a team and competeagainst an opposing team in a multiple player against multiple playerformat (to be referred to below as a “team competition” or a “multipleplayer against multiple player competition”), many points relating togame image display, judgment of the relative strength of the teams, andgame data communication require improvement.

Firstly, in relation to game image display, the following points forimprovement have been specified. In a shooting game (a game in whichbullets or light beams are fired to topple an opponent), the “light beambullets” emitted from the object manipulated by the player, or in otherwords the character, toward an opponent character are accompanied on theground surface by a projected image object (for example an artificialshadow) to provide a sense of realism.

In this specification, according to a world coordinate system which canbe used to conveniently define a virtual space, the character is assumedto “stand” on an XZ plane, and a virtual “ground surface” is defined asrunning irregularly along the XZ plane. Hence the forward direction inthe Y axis direction is defined as the “up” direction, and the Y axiscoordinate is defined as “height”.

More specifically, a virtual point light source is set directly belowthe light beam bullet, and the light from the point light source isprojected onto the ground surface as a shadow, thereby emulating theshadow of the light beam bullet. In this case, the magnitude of theshadow projected onto the ground surface is processed to become smallerin relation to the height of the light beam bullet.

However, when the light beam bullet is far above the ground surface, theshadow of the light beam bullet becomes extremely small, causing aproblem in that the player is substantially unable to recognize theshadow on the displayed screen.

Further, the viewpoint in the virtual space which defines the game imagedisplayed on each display device is fixed diagonally rearward from abovethe head of the object manipulated by the player, or in other words thecharacter. Hence the viewpoint position is constantly fixed until theplayer manually alters the viewpoint position. This causes a problem inthat when there are a large number of displayed images, some of theimages move out of the field of vision and are not displayed.Conversely, when the viewpoint is set in advance far away from thedisplayed objects in order to avoid this problem, the individual objectsare displayed in small size on the display screen, leading to areduction in the sense of realism. Displaying a split screen on whichthe positions of the display images that have moved out of the field ofview are displayed has been considered, but the calculation processingload required to display a split screen is high, and since the playermust pay attention to two or more screens, s/he may become confused andlose the ability to concentrate on the game. A method of moving theviewpoint in accordance with the movements of the character manipulatedby the player has also been considered, but in this method the field ofvision for displaying images only responds to the movements of thischaracter, and thus the display objects that the player wishes to seemay not be displayed, meaning that the player must search for theobjects to be seen separately.

A problem has also been specified regarding the display of objectsdisplayed as a part of the background. For example, in order to make astructure in a sea set inside a virtual space (a building post, thebottom surface of a ship, or the like) appear to be actually submerged,a texture for illustrating seawater is synthesized with the texture ofthe structure. In this case, color calculation processing forsynthesizing the textures is performed by means of calculations such asaddition and multiplication of the color components of the pixelsconstituting both textures. In this type of method, however, thecalculation processing amount for making the entirety of an object whichoccupies a large area of a screen, such as the sea surface,semi-transparent is large, which sometimes causes a deterioration in theoverall processing performance of the game device.

Secondly, regarding judgments of the relative strength of the teams, thefollowing problems have been specified. First, in game devices up to thepresent, information indicating the remaining fighting strength (forexample physical strength) in the game of a player's own character hasbeen displayed using meter information or the like displayed on the gamescreen, but no function exists for judging or displaying the relativestrength of each team for the team as a whole. On the game screen ofeach player, the physical strength of the player's own character,another character, or all of the characters is displayed individually,but display of the remaining fighting strength of the team as a whole isnot provided. Hence there is a need for each player to be able toascertain this information by means of a fixed operation.

When playing a team competition, games have been designed to concludewhen the number of remaining characters on one of the teams reacheszero. According to this method, however, the player must always keeptrack of the state of the remaining characters, which is troublesome.Moreover, calculation processing is required for displaying the numberof remaining characters on one team on the game device of the other teamat all times, causing a reduction in the overall processing performance.

Further, when playing a team competition, the team having the mostmembers is of course advantaged, but in game systems up to the present,participation in the game is closed even when there is a disparity inthe number of players constituting a team, and thus games are oftenbegun under unequal conditions. If the game is continued under suchunbalanced conditions, one team alone becomes superior, and sincecompetition cannot be conducted under equal conditions, the desire ofthe players to play the game wanes and the sense of tension decreases.

When one of the characters forming a team falls during a competition,that team has one less member than the opposing team, leading to adisparity in the team numbers. Conventionally, the game continues evenin this situation, and hence the player who was manipulating the fallencharacter can only wait for the game to end without being able to doanything. Moreover, the other players belonging to the team of thefallen character must continue the game with a diminished number ofcharacters.

Thirdly, problems have been specified in relation to delays inprocessing the data required for game processing. More specifically, upto the present, when an occurrence (to be referred to as an “event”hereinafter) occurs on one of the game devices such as a light beambullet being fired, the game device on which the event occurred performsgame processing in accordance with the event, and when the processing iscomplete (when an opponent is toppled by the light beam bullet, forexample), the result of the processing is transmitted to the opposinggame devices via a network. When data are transceived through a network,however, time delays are inevitable, and hence the reception side gamedevice receives the data at a time delay. Since the game progressessynchronously on the transmission side and reception side game devices,such data delays may cause images to be displayed “out-of-sync”. When anevent occurs in which a light beam bullet is fired, for example, theprocessing up to the point at which the light beam bullet strikes theopponent is performed on the transmission side game device, and thendata indicating that the opponent has been shot are transmitted as theprocessing result. If the opponent to be processed as being shot movesduring transmission of the processing result, the light beam bullet isdisplayed as a direct hit on the opponent even though the light beambullet does not strike the opponent directly once the opponent hasmoved. Hence an image indicating that the opponent has been processed asbeing shot by a light beam bullet that could not have been a direct hitis mistakenly displayed. Since this is not due to a lack of gaming skillon the part of the player manipulating the opponent, the player feelsunfairly disadvantaged by an internal fault in the game device or gameprogram (a communication delay, strike judgment setting defect, orsimilar), and may lose further interest in the game.

Considering these numerous problems, a first object of the presentinvention is to provide a game device for eliminating problems relatingto game image display that have been specified on conventional gamedevices.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a communicationgame system for eliminating problems relating to judgments of therelative strength of teams that have been specified on conventionalcommunication game systems.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a communicationgame system for eliminating problems caused by game data communicationdelays that have been specified on conventional communication gamesystems.

In order to achieve the first object, the present invention is a gamedevice constituted to be capable of displaying a spatial objectpositioned at a remove from a terrain surface set within a virtualspace, comprising a projected image generating module for generating aprojected image object emulating a projected image of the spatial objecton the terrain surface, and a projected image modifying module formoving the projected image object in accordance with the movement of thespatial object, modifying the magnitude of the displayed projected imageobject in accordance with the position of the spatial object within thevirtual space and the position of a virtual light source set within thevirtual space, and holding the magnitude of the projected image objectat a predetermined magnitude when the distance of the spatial objectfrom the terrain surface exceeds a reference distance.

In the present invention “module” indicates a unit comprising apredetermined function which is executed by a software program andhardware in conjunction.

Here, “virtual space” indicates a space defined by a logically setcoordinate system for performing CG processing.

Here, “spatial object” generally refers to an object which floats withinthe virtual space, and in the case of a shooting game may refer to afired light beam bullet. The spatial object may also be a charactermanipulated by a player. The spatial object may also be a flying bodywhich accompanies the aforementioned virtual light source.

Here, for example, the aforementioned game is a shooting game, and thespatial object is a light beam bullet fired from a weapon of a characterwho appears in the shooting game.

Here, “character” is an object within the virtual space which can bemodified by an operation of a player operating a game device or by thegame device itself, and is the main participant in the competitive game.A character includes a home character which can be manipulated by aplayer, and enemy characters which are manipulated by game devicesoperated by other competing players.

The present invention is also a game device constituted to enableplayers to play a game by manipulating a home character within a virtualspace, comprising an image generating module for generating a game imageprojected onto a two-dimensional plane which incorporates into a fieldof vision the front of the home character from a viewpoint behind thehome character, and a viewpoint position controlling module for movingthe viewpoint position within the space behind the home character inaccordance with the position or movement within the virtual space ofcharacters to be incorporated into the field of vision.

Here, “behind” and “front” refer to directions relating to the homecharacter within the virtual space, which have been determined for thesake of convenience. In the case of a character emulating a human beingor robot, these directions correspond to what is generally known as afront-rear relationship.

Here, when the viewpoint position controlling module, for example, movesthe viewpoint position within the space behind the home character, theviewpoint position is moved within a range at which the distance betweenthe viewpoint and home character remains within a predetermineddistance.

Further, when a character to be incorporated into the field of visionmoves out of the field of vision, the viewpoint position controllingmodule moves the viewpoint at a predetermined speed to incorporate intothe field of vision the character to be incorporated into the field ofvision.

The present invention is a game device constituted to enable players toplay a game by manipulating a home character within a virtual space,comprising an image generating module for generating a game imageprojected onto a two-dimensional plane which incorporates into a fieldof vision the front of the home character from a viewpoint behind thehome character, and a viewpoint position controlling module for movingthe viewpoint position within the space behind the home character inaccordance with the position or movement within the virtual space ofcharacters to be incorporated into the field of vision, wherein the gameis a game in which a plurality of characters move within a virtualspace, and the viewpoint position controlling module controls theviewpoint position in accordance with the position or movement of thehome character and the other characters.

Here, the viewpoint position controlling module may move the viewpointposition within a range at which the distance between the viewpoint andthe home character remains within a predetermined distance range, suchthat the number of other characters displayed on the game image ismaximized.

Further, the present invention is a game device constituted to enableplayers to play a game in a virtual space, comprising a specifyingmodule for specifying a plurality of display objects having at least apartially overlapping relationship within the virtual space, a comparingmodule for comparing the surface area of each of the plurality ofspecified display objects when the display objects are displayed as agame image, a semi-transparentizing processing module for making thedisplay object with the smaller surface area according to the comparisonsemi-transparent, and an image generating module for generating a gameimage by disposing the semi-transparentized display object to the frontwhen seen from the line of vision of the game image.

Here, the “display object” may be an object forming a part of thebackground or a character.

In order to achieve the second object, the present invention is acommunication game system in which a plurality of game devices areconnected to each other to enable a competitive team game to be playedin which at least two players operating the game devices form one team,comprising a relative strength judging module for judging the relativestrength of the teams playing the competitive game on the basis of thetotal fighting ability within a team, and an image generating module forgenerating an image displaying the results of the judgment.

Here, the relative strength judging module determines the relativestrength of the teams by calculating the proportion of a maximumfighting ability value of the characters manipulated by the players inthe competitive game that is occupied by a current fighting abilityvalue, and totaling this proportion for each team.

Further, the present invention is a communication game system in which aplurality of game devices are connected to each other to enable acompetitive team game to be played in which at least two playersoperating the game devices form one team, comprising an activity judgingmodule for determining the relative strength of the teams playing thecompetitive game according to whether or not a leader characterdesignated as the leader of each team is active during the competitivegame, and a relative strength judging module which, when the leadercharacter is judged to be active, judges the team to which the leadercharacter belongs to be the winner.

Here, “active” refers to a case in which a character survives (or inother words is “alive”) without being eliminated, for example.

Further, the competitive game may be constituted such that a stage inwhich an outcome is determined can be executed a plurality of timesduring each competitive game, and may comprise a leader switching modulefor automatically switching the character designated as leader at eachstage, and a game executing module for executing each stage of the gameunder the leader character switched by the leader switching module.

Here, the leader switching module may be constituted to automaticallyreselect the leader character with the best results throughout theprevious stages in each stage.

The leader switching module may also be constituted to automaticallyreselect the leader character with the best results throughout theprevious stages in the final stage.

The activity of the leader character may be determined with reference tothe fact that the leader character has remaining physical strength.

A competition time of the game may be determined in advance such that ifthe leader characters of both teams are active when the competition timehas elapsed, the team whose leader character has the most remainingphysical strength is judged the winner.

Alternatively, a competition time of the game may be determined inadvance such that if the leader characters of both teams are active whenthe competition time has elapsed, the remaining physical strength of thecharacters belonging to each team is totaled and the team with thegreatest total physical strength is judged the winner.

The present invention is a communication game system in which aplurality of game devices are connected to each other to enable acompetitive team game to be played in which at least two playersoperating the game devices form one team, comprising an activity judgingmodule for determining the relative strength of the teams playing thecompetitive game according to whether or not a leader characterdesignated as the leader of each team is active during the competitivegame, and a physical strength distributing module which, when thephysical strength of a character other than the leader character withina team decreases, distributes the physical strength of the leadercharacter to the character with reduced physical strength.

Further, the present invention is a communication game system in which aplurality of game devices are connected to each other to enable acompetitive team game to be played in which at least two playersoperating the game devices form one team, wherein each of the pluralityof game devices comprises a condition considering module for consideringpredetermined conditions corresponding to the balance of fightingstrength between the teams playing the competitive game, and a fightingstrength balance adjusting module for adjusting the balance of fightingstrength between the teams in accordance with the conditions.

Here, the fighting strength balance adjusting module may match thenumber of characters in each team participating in the competitive gameat the start of the competitive game.

The fighting strength balance adjusting module may also place weightingconditions on the team having an advantage of a predetermined standardor higher in accordance with an imbalance arising between the teamsduring the course of the competitive game.

Here, “weighting conditions” includes prohibiting an attack by acharacter for a fixed time period or prohibiting modification of theorientation of the character.

The fighting strength balance adjusting module may also place theweighting conditions in accordance with one or more conditions(corresponding to the aforementioned predetermined conditions) selectedfrom a group of conditions indicating an imbalance between the teams,this group comprising the number of characters on each team, the setability of each character in the game, the competition-winningpercentage of each character, and the competition-winning percentage ofeach team.

The fighting strength balance adjusting module may also be constitutedto perform processing according to which one character helps anothercharacter within a team during the course of the competitive game.

Here, each game device may comprise a tracking object setting module forsetting as a tracking object one character from among the characterscomprising an opposing team on the basis of predetermined conditions,and a tracking module for modifying the position or orientation of thehome character manipulated by the player until the home character entersa range within which the character set as the tracking object can beattacked.

Here, the tracking module may further comprise a correcting module forcorrecting the position or orientation of the home character inaccordance with the movement of the character set as a tracking objectsuch that the home character enters the range within which the charactercan be attacked.

In this case, one or more conditions selected from a group comprisingthe absolute physical strength value of the opponent, the relativephysical strength value of the opponent to the home character, attackingstrength, defense strength, the presence of a set leader, and thewinning percentage of the player manipulating the character may be usedas the “predetermined conditions”.

In order to achieve the third object, the present invention is acommunication game system in which a plurality of game devices areconnected to each other to enable a competitive team game to be playedby a plurality of players operating the game devices, wherein the gamedevices respectively comprise an event transmitting module which, when apredetermined event occurs, transmits data indicating that this eventhas occurred to the other game devices implementing the competitivegame, a data receiving module for receiving data from one of the othergame devices implementing the competitive game, a processing resulttransmission module for executing game processing based on the receiveddata and transmitting data indicating the result of this processing tothe other game devices implementing the competitive game, and a gameimage generating module for generating a game image based on theprocessing result.

Here, when three or more game devices are connected to each other, thegame image generating module is constituted such that the dataindicating a processing result, which are transmitted from the gamedevices in response to an event occurring in another game device, arereceived by all of the other game devices implementing the competitivegame, whereupon a game image based on the plurality of receivedprocessing results is generated.

The data indicating that an event has occurred in each of the gamedevices may include at least information specifying the game devicewhich caused the event and information indicating the content of theevent.

When the data indicating that an event has occurred are received in eachof the game devices, a game image corresponding to the game device whichcaused the event and the content of the event may be generated, and thedata indicating a processing result may include at least informationspecifying the game device which caused the event, the content of theevent, and the result of processing in the game devices corresponding tothe event.

Here, the present invention is wherein an attack perpetrated by onecharacter is transmitted as the event from a transmission side gamedevice to a reception side game device, a direct hit judgment isperformed by the reception side game device to determine whether or notthe attack hit the character specified as the attack subject, whereuponthe result of this direct hit judgment is transmitted back to thetransmission side game device as a processing result, and when theprocessing results of the other game devices participating in thecompetitive game are all gathered in the transmission side game device,game processing based on the processing results is performed in thetransmission side game device.

In each of the inventions described above, the game is a shooting gamein which characters manipulated by players shoot each other to competefor victory, for example.

The present invention is a machine readable recording medium recordedwith a program for causing a computer to execute a game method forimplementing each of the inventions described above.

Here, “recording medium” refers to a so-called medium such as a CD-ROM,CD-R, CD-R/W, DVE, MD, DAT, FD, or HD for storing digital data. In caseswhere program data are received by means of communication through anetwork, the network through which the program data pass is itselfincluded in the definition of “recording medium”.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication game system according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the outer appearance of a game deviceincorporating this communication game system;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing in outline the electricalconfiguration of the game device;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart showing an example of the flow of acompetitive game;

FIGS. 5A-5C are views schematically illustrating automatic viewpointsettings;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an outline of automatic viewpoint setting;

FIG. 7 is a view schematically illustrating automatic viewpoint setting;

FIGS. 8A & 8B are views illustrating an example of auxiliary processing;

FIGS. 9A & 9B are views illustrating another example of auxiliaryprocessing;

FIG. 10 is a schematic flowchart illustrating another example ofauxiliary processing;

FIG. 11 is a schematic flowchart illustrating an example of auxiliaryprocessing together with FIG. 10;

FIGS. 12A & 12B are views illustrating threshold processing and theflight of a light beam bullet in projection processing for the lightbeam bullet;

FIG. 13 is a schematic flowchart illustrating threshold processing inthe light beam bullet projection processing;

FIG. 14 is a schematic flowchart illustrating automatic leader settingprocessing;

FIGS. 15A-5C are views showing an example of automatic leader settingprocessing when the outcome of a game is decided after playing aplurality of times;

FIG. 16 is a pattern diagram of a life meter for each character in eachteam, illustrating processing for judging the relative strength of eachteam;

FIG. 17 is a schematic flowchart illustrating semi-transparentizingprocessing;

FIGS. 18A & 18B are views illustrating an example ofsemi-transparentizing processing; and

FIGS. 19A & 19B are views illustrating data communication in thisembodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

An embodiment pertaining to the present invention will be describedbelow on the basis of the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the schematic constitution of a communication game systemGS according to this embodiment. In this communication game system GS, aplurality of game devices 1 (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, . . . ) operated by playersare connected to each other via a network 2 serving as communicationmeans. Through this communication game system GS, an unspecified largenumber of players can conduct a shooting game as a team competition (amultiple player against multiple player competition).

Note that in the following description, the configurations and functionsrequired to conduct a competitive game on a plurality of game devicesmainly using a communication function will be described. However, when acompetitive game using a communication function is not performed, eachgame device 1 is constructed to be capable of functioning as astand-alone game device.

The communication network 2 is a public line or private line forming aWAN (Wide Area Network) such as a private game network or the Internet.When the communication network 2 is the Internet, an unspecified largenumber of computer devices are capable of communication, and usingvarious commands defined by TCP/IP protocols, files can be viewed,electronic mail and files can be transferred, and so on. Note, however,that the communication network does not have to be a WAN, and may be alocal network such as a LAN operated on a closed circuit.

Also note that a game server system may be connected to thecommunication network 2 such that the game server system is entrustedwith the management of a part or all of the game.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the game device 1, and FIG. 3 is a blockdiagram of the electrical hardware of the game device 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the game device 1 is constructed by connecting agame device main body 10, a controller 20, and back-up memory 203 toeach other.

The game device main body 10 is a control device body for controllingthe progress of a game. The game device main body 10 may be connected toa plurality of the controllers 20 through connectors C. The game devicemain body 10 comprises a CD-ROM drive 304 (see FIG. 3) into and fromwhich a recording medium such as a CD-ROM can be freely inserted andremoved.

The controller 20 is constituted by an operating portion which isoperated by a player, the operating portion comprising a group ofbuttons 201, an arrow key 202, and so on. The controller 20 may beconnected to the game device main body 10 through a connection cord 21provided with a connector P. The back-up memory 203 may be removablyconnected to the controller 20.

The game device main body 10 is constituted similarly to a computerdevice, and as shown in FIG. 3, comprises a CPU block 30, a video block31, a sound block 32, a communication block 33, and so on.

The CPU block 30 comprises a bus arbiter 300, a CPU 301, main memory302, ROM 303, and the CD-ROM drive 304. The bus arbiter 300 isconstructed to be capable of controlling the transmission and receptionof data by allocating bus occupying time among the devices connected toeach other via a bus. The CPU 301 is constructed to be capable ofaccessing the main memory 302, ROM 303, CD-ROM drive 304, video block 31and sound block 32, and of accessing the back-up memory 203 via thecontroller 20.

The CPU 301 performs various types of game processing and controlrequired to execute a team shooting game by means of communication, andis capable of transferring image data to graphic memory 311 and sounddata to sound memory 321.

The processing executed by the CPU 301 includes reception processing forthe various types of operation information instructed from thecontroller 20, processing for reflecting the received information in thegame, character behavior calculation (simulation) processing, lightsource processing, viewpoint movement control processing,semi-transparentizing processing, and so on.

Behavior calculation is for simulating character movement in a virtualspace. In order to execute this processing, the coordinates of characterpolygons in the virtual space are determined, whereupon a conversionmatrix and form data (polygon data) for converting these coordinatevalues into a coordinate system for a two-dimensional field of visionare instructed to a VDP 310. Note that “polygon data” refers to acoordinate data set comprising a relative coordinate and an absolutecoordinate of each vertex of a polygon (a multi-angled form, mainlytriangles and quadrilaterals) which is constituted by the aggregate of aplurality of vertices.

The ROM 303 is the storage region for an initial program loader. The ROM303 is an element constituting a part of the recording medium of thepresent invention, and programs required in the processing of the CPU301 are recorded thereon in advance. Note that external memory such as aCD-ROM may be used as the recording medium.

The CD-ROM drive 304 is an element constituting a part of the recordingmedium of the present invention, and also uses a CD-ROM as a recordingmedium for externally supplied data. The CD-ROM drive 304 may also beconstituted to transfer programs to memory through the communicationdevice 33. By means of such setting, data may be transferred from afixed disk or the like of a remote server.

The video block 31 comprises the VDP (Video Display Processor) 310, thegraphic memory 311, and a video encoder 312. By means of thisconstitution, the video block 31 is capable of generating 3D image dataand moving images. More specifically, textures are applied to the formdata of the converted field of vision coordinate system, polygon screenssuch as characters, other objects, and terrains defined in accordancewith the XZ plane of the world coordinate system are synthesized on aprescribed priority basis with scroll screens such as alphanumericalinformation, and final frame image data are generated at fixed timeintervals. These data become the game images provided to the players.

The video encoder 312 converts the image data generated by the VDP 310into predetermined television signals in an NTSC format or the like suchthat the data can be outputted to a main monitor 12 (such as thecathode-ray tube of a television receiver) that is connected to theoutside.

The sound block 32 comprises a sound processor 320, the sound memory321, and a D/A converter 322. By means of this constitution, the soundblock 32 performs sound synthesis based on waveform data and is therebycapable of outputting acoustic signals. The D/A converter 322 convertsthe sound data generated by the sound processor 320 into analog signalsand is thereby capable of outputting the analog signals to a speaker 13(the speaker of a television receiver or the speaker of an acousticdevice) connected to the outside.

The communication device 33 is a modem, terminal adapter, or LANadapter, for example, and functions as an adapter for connecting thegame device main body 10 and the communication network. Thecommunication device 33 receives data transmitted from a game supplyingserver such as an Internet server connected to a public network, and isthereby capable of supplying the data to the bus of the CPU block 30. Ifthe communication network is a public network, no differentiation ismade between a subscriber line and a private line or between wired andwireless constitutions. The communication mode may be a broadbandconnection such as FTTH, ADSL, or CATV Internet, or a non-broadbandconnection such as ISDN or an analog line.

Next, referring to FIGS. 4,through 19, the processing performed in thecommunication game system of this embodiment will be described.

The flowchart in FIG. 4 shows an outline of the functions executed byeach game device 1 (1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, . . . ) in a fixed cycle. As shownin FIG. 4, when the timing of a game image update cycle (for example afield period of a video signal or a frame period) is reached (step S1),the CPU 301, in succession, reads the operation information from aplayer inputted through the controller 20 (step S2), transmits andreceives data to and from the other game devices via the communicationnetwork 2 (step S3), and obtains a viewpoint position (the viewpoint inthe virtual space from which game images are generated) through manualsetting performed by the player and a light source position from storedinformation (step S4). Next, the CPU 301 performs game processingincluding various types of processing relating to the game screendisplay, the outcome of the team competition (the relative strength ofthe teams), and so on (step S5), commands semi-transparentizingprocessing (step S6), and commands display processing (step S7).

Game processing comprises automatic viewpoint setting (step S5A),processing to compensate for imbalances in team strength during the teamcompetition (step S5B), projection processing for the light beam bulletserving as a spatial object (step S5C), automatic setting of a leaderfor each team (step S5D), projection conversion from a world coordinatesystem into a field of vision coordinate system (step S5E), judgment ofthe relative strength of each team (step S5F), calculation of the gameresults (step S5G), and so on. Note that steps S5A to S5G may beperformed in any appropriate order.

Note that none of the processes described above (steps S5A through S5G)end within the game update cycle, but are performed as a sum totalobtained throughout many update cycles. Accordingly, the game devicechecks the conditions corresponding to the content of each process (S5Athrough S5G) at each update cycle, and if an event has occurred, theprocessing therefor is performed. If no event has occurred, processingadvances to another step.

Further, the steps shown in FIG. 4 do not have to be performed in theillustrated order, but may be executed in a different order ifimplemented within the update cycle or a fixed cycle.

Processes S5A through S5G will be described in detail below. In thefollowing description, “home character” indicates a character which canbe operated by a player, and “enemy character” indicates a characterwhich can be operated by another player.

Further, in this communication game system, a team may be formed betweenplayers in remote locations operating different game devices connectedto each other via the network, or a team may be formed between playersconnected to the same game device through respective controllers. Forexample, players operating the same game device may belong to differentteams and compete against each other.

(Viewpoint Movement Setting)

The viewpoint movement setting processing of this embodiment will bedescribed on the basis of FIGS. 5 through 7. This viewpoint movementsetting differs from conventional processing, in which a player modifiesthe viewpoint manually by operating a controller, in that the viewpointis moved automatically so as to display an appropriate image on the gamedevice. More specifically, when generating a game image to be projectedon a two-dimensional plane which incorporates within the field of visionthe front of the home character from a viewpoint behind the homecharacter, the game device moves the viewpoint position within the spacebehind the home character in accordance with the position or movementwithin the virtual space of characters to be incorporated in the fieldof vision.

Conventionally, the viewpoint from which the game image is generated hasbeen fixed in a fixed position above and behind the head of the player.According to this method, when a large number of display objects (aplurality of enemy characters, for example) exist within a large numberof spaces, it is sometimes impossible for all of the display objects tofit onto the game screen. As shown in FIG. 5A, such a situation ariseswhen the home character and enemy characters (targets) 1, 2 aredisplayed on the game screen and the enemy character 2 makes a largemovement, for example. In other words, when the enemy character 2 movesout of the frame of the game image, it becomes impossible to accommodatethe enemy characters 1, 2 within the frame from a fixed viewpoint, asshown in FIG. 5B.

Hence in this embodiment, the viewpoint position is moved within thespace behind the home character in accordance with the position ormovement within the virtual space of the characters (target enemycharacters and the like) to be accommodated within the field of vision.More specifically, the viewpoint is moved at a predetermined speed suchthat the characters (enemy characters) to be accommodated within thefield of vision enter the field of vision. As shown in FIG. 5B, forexample, when an enemy character moves, the CPU 301 performs control tomove the viewpoint rearward and/or upward in the direction of the lineof vision at a predetermined speed, whereby both of the enemy characters1, 2 are accommodated within the screen. As a result, a game imageaccommodating all display objects is displayed as shown in FIG. 5C.

At this time, the viewpoint is moved within a range at which thedistance between the viewpoint and the home character is not more than apredetermined distance. This distance is set to a distance which is notso far removed from the characters that the characters become too smallwithin the game image. If the viewpoint is too far from the characters,the sense of realism of the game image deteriorates.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the specific procedures involved inautomatic viewpoint setting.

First, an initial state is set in which the viewpoint is in apredetermined position above and behind the head of the home character,this being the normal viewpoint position (step S21). Then, adetermination is made as to whether or not all of the display objects(targets) are accommodated in the screen (step S22). If the result ofthis determination is NO, the viewpoint position is moved rearwardand/or upward of the normal position (step S23). If the viewpoint is tobe moved by a large distance according to the positional relationshipbetween the home character and the characters to be displayed, and theviewpoint is moved rapidly by this large degree, it becomes difficultfor the player to see. To prevent this, the viewpoint movement speed isadjusted so as not to exceed a predetermined speed, whereupon viewpointmovement control is performed to move the viewpoint to the targetviewpoint position (S24). At this time, a determination is made as towhether or not the viewpoint has moved too far backward from theposition of the home character or enemy characters, or in other wordswhether the viewpoint has moved within the predetermined distance (stepS25). If the viewpoint is too far back (YES), the position thereof isset as the viewpoint position, and if the viewpoint can be moved furtherbackward (NO), the process is repeated from step S22. If the homecharacter can be sufficiently perceived and all of the display objectsare accommodated within the screen (step S22, YES), the modifiedviewpoint is maintained at that point (step S26).

Note that if the positional relationship of the characters changesbefore the viewpoint arrives at the target when the viewpoint is movedat a predetermined speed, the target viewpoint position may also bechanged. In such a case, processing such as constantly moving theviewpoint to the newest target position or considering the differencebetween the current viewpoint position and the newest target viewpointposition such that the current viewpoint position is given priority whenthe difference is small may be performed.

In this automatic viewpoint setting, the limit by which the viewpoint ismoved rearward and/or upward is a range within which the home characterand enemy characters can be distinguished. In the flowchart describedabove, this limitation is determined according to the distance betweenthe home character and the viewpoint. Alternatively, the processing maybe modified such that a limit to the display size of the home characteris determined in advance, for example, and when this display size isreached viewpoint movement is prohibited.

FIG. 7 shows the disposal of the characters on a plane (XZ plane) in thevirtual space. In this embodiment, the viewpoint position set above andbehind the head of the home character is automatically controlled asshown in FIG. 7. Initially, a viewpoint C1 is set with a display objectP1 (the home character) as a reference. When P2 is the only otherdisplay object, the viewpoint C1 is maintained as is. When two displayobjects, P2, P3 are present, however, the display object P3 is notaccommodated within the field of vision from the position of theviewpoint C1. Hence the game device moves the viewpoint rearward and/orupward at a predetermined speed in accordance with the flowchart in FIG.6 until the display object P3 is accommodated. When three displayobjects, P2 to P4, are present, the display object P4 is notaccommodated in the field of vision even from the position of theviewpoint C2. At this point, the viewpoint would be moved furtherrearward in accordance with the processing in steps S22 to S24 of FIG.6. However, when the viewpoint is moved to the position of the viewpointC3, the home character becomes difficult to distinguish from the othercharacters, and an image which is far removed from the image obtained atthe initial viewpoint C1 position is provided. Hence the limitationaccording to step S25 (YES) is imposed, and the viewpoint C2 position ismaintained.

When only P2 remains as the other display objects (that is, when thedisplay objects, including the home character, consist of P1 and P2alone), processing is performed such that the viewpoint is automaticallyreturned to C1 at a slow predetermined speed.

(Fighting Strength Balance Adjustment Processing)

The auxiliary processing (fighting strength balance adjustmentprocessing) executed in step S5B of a competitive game will now bedescribed on the basis of FIGS. 8 through 11.

This processing is performed in a communication game system such as thesystem of this embodiment, which is constituted to be capable ofexecuting a competitive team game with two players forming one team, toconsider predetermined conditions corresponding to the balance offighting strength between the teams playing the competitive game and toadjust the balance of fighting strength between the teams in accordancewith these conditions. For example, when an imbalance arises in thenumber of characters in the teams participating in the competitive game,the number of characters in each team is equalized, weighting conditionsare placed on the team having an advantage of a predetermined standardor higher in accordance with an imbalance arising between the teamsduring the course of the competitive game, or similar. In other words,if an imbalance in fighting strength arises at the start of or duringthe game when a multiple player against multiple player competition isperformed, weighting conditions are placed on the superior team or helpis provided to the inferior team, and thus a balance of fightingstrength can be attained. By means of this processing, the amount oftime during which the fighting strength of the teams is substantiallyequal can be extended, and the players can be kept in a state ofexcitement and tension.

Items that can be considered as team imbalances are the number ofcharacters per team, set character abilities in the game, the winningpercentage of the characters, the winning percentage of each team, andso on.

Auxiliary processing will be described specifically below. Any of thefirst through third auxiliary processings may be executed selectively orin combination.

The first auxiliary processing is executed to correct an imbalance inthe number of characters per team. The game device compares the numberof characters per team at the start of the game, or in other words thenumber of participating players, and if there is an imbalance in thenumbers, supplements the number of characters in the team that islacking in characters.

As shown in FIG. 8A, for example, when team B has fewer participatingcharacters than team A, the game device adds a character A1 controlledby the game device itself to team B which is lacking in participatingcharacters. This character A1 is constructed to be capable of competingagainst team A in conjunction with the character manipulated by a playerC.

The auxiliary processing of this embodiment is not limited only to acase in which an imbalance arises in the number of participatingplayers. When the minimum number of participants to implement a teamcompetition is not satisfied, characters may be supplemented to satisfythe minimum number of participants. As shown in FIG. 8B, for example, ifthe minimum number of participants is set as two per team, but oneplayer joins team A and one player joins team B, the game devicesbelonging to each team add the character A1 (in this case one character)controlled by the game devices until the minimum number of participantsis satisfied.

By means of this auxiliary processing, imbalances in the number ofcharacters are eliminated and team fighting strength is equalized. Henceprocessing is simplified.

The second auxiliary processing is to place weighting conditions on theteam having an advantage of a predetermined standard or higher inaccordance with an imbalance arising between the teams during the courseof the competitive game. For example, if the number of charactersbelonging to a team falls by a fixed number or more during a competitivegame, impediment processing in the form of weighting conditions isperformed on the team having the larger number of characters in order tocorrect the resultant imbalance. In the case of a shooting game, forexample, the impediment processing may be that the characters belongingto the superior team are prohibited from facing the direction of thecharacters belonging to the inferior team, an aim-locking functionrequired when attacking a character may be disabled for a predeterminedlength of time only for the characters belonging to the superior team,or similar.

If, for example, no imbalance in the number of characters per teamarises, the player manipulating a character P3 on team B is able tocause this character to face the direction of a character on team A, asshown in FIG. 9A. When a character P2 on team A is eliminated such thatthe number of characters in team A decreases, as shown in FIG. 9B, thegame devices to which the characters of team B belong apply weightingconditions to the characters of team B. In order to target a specificcharacter from the plurality of characters on the opponent team, theshooting game of this embodiment is provided with a locking function forspecifying a target opponent as a lock subject by means of a playeroperation, and an automatic tracking function for automaticallyfollowing the direction of the opponent who is the current lock subjectby means of a player operation, for example. If the number of characterson the opponent team decreases throughout the course of the game,impediment processing is performed on the team having the larger numberof characters such that the locking function and automatic trackingfunction are disabled for a predetermined length of time or until theimbalance between the teams has been removed. In other words, when animbalance arises, the game device prohibits the character P3 of team B,which was not facing the direction of a character on team A, fromlocking onto a character belonging to team A or turning in the directionthereof. When the imbalance is removed (when one of the characters onteam B is eliminated or a character is added to team A, for example) ora predetermined length of time has elapsed, the impediment processing iscanceled. By means of this auxiliary processing, the fighting strengthof a team which is superior in terms of character number is forciblyreduced temporarily, thereby providing the inferior team with anopportunity to make a comeback and time to consider subsequent strategy.

The third auxiliary processing is performed during a competitive game toallow one character on a team to help another character. A physicalstrength parameter indicating game strength and endurance is set foreach character. In the communication game system of this embodiment,this physical strength parameter may be transceived between game devicesand thereby mutually communicated. The physical strength of a characterbelonging to a game device which receives the physical strengthparameter can be raised in accordance with the “physical strength” shownin the received physical strength parameter. By means of such afunction, the characters within a team are capable of “helping eachother”.

A specific example of this auxiliary processing will be described on thebasis of the flowcharts in FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 illustratesprocessing performed when the fighting strength, or in other words thephysical strength, of a certain character is sufficient, and FIG. 11illustrates processing performed when the fighting strength is reduced.Here, it is assumed that the fighting strength of allied charactersbelonging to the same team is monitored by the game devices of thecharacters through the transmission and reception of the physicalstrength parameter of the characters and the like. It is also assumedthat upon execution of this auxiliary processing, the processing isperformed in consideration of the time delays arising when the gamedevices transmit and receive data via a network.

When the physical strength of a character is sufficient, first adetermination is made as to whether an allied character is present inthe vicinity of the character within the virtual space, and whether thephysical strength of this character is reduced (step S31). Reducedphysical strength indicates that the physical strength parameter of thecharacter has fallen to or below a fixed value, or that the physicalstrength parameter value is relatively lower than that of the homecharacter, for example. If a character with reduced physical strength isdiscovered (step S31, YES), the game device transmits the surplusphysical strength of the home character to the character with reducedphysical strength as a physical strength parameter (step S32). When thegame device to which the character with reduced physical strengthbelongs receives the physical strength parameter (step S41, YES), thephysical strength of the home character of this game device is increasedin accordance with the physical strength parameter, and a response istransmitted indicating reception of the parameter (step S42). When thisresponse reaches the game device which transmitted the physical strengthparameter (step S33, YES), processing ends. If, on the other hand, theresponse does not arrive (step S33, NO), the processing waits for afixed time period (step S34, NO to step S33), and when the fixed timeperiod has elapsed (step S34, YES), processing ends. When the responsearrives, the game device reduces the fighting strength of its homecharacter by the transmitted physical strength parameter. During atime-out when the response does not arrive, reduction of fightingstrength from the home character is prohibited. By means of suchprocessing, physical strength transfer is performed securely.

Note that in the processing described above, a character with sufficientphysical strength is able to help a nearby character with reducedphysical strength. However, the processing may be set such that acharacter with reduced physical strength detects nearby alliedcharacters in order to share the physical strength thereof. Here,processing to share physical strength may be processing whereby acharacter who wishes to receive or share out physical strengthapproaches an allied character or the like. It should be noted, however,that there are cases in which a player wishes to continue the gamewithout distributing physical strength or the like even when a weak orfallen character is present, and thus setting may be performed such thatphysical strength distribution is not performed unless the bodies of thecharacters come into contact with each other.

If there are no characters in the vicinity with reduced physicalstrength, the game device may expand the range for detecting alliedcharacters by means of a player operation such that when an alliedcharacter with reduced fighting strength is discovered, the homecharacter can advance in that direction automatically. According to thisprocessing, the probability of aiding an allied character is increased.This detection processing may also be executed in relation to an alliedcharacter whose fighting strength is not reduced. By means of such aconstitution, when the fighting strength of the home characterdecreases, the player can search for an allied character with sufficientfighting strength and receive physical strength from that character. Insuch cases, the processing for detecting an allied character may beperformed automatically on the game device side rather than beingdependent on a player operation. At this time, a simple operationindicating the desire of the player to search for an allied character issufficient.

(Light Beam Bullet Projection Processing)

Next, the light beam bullet projection processing executed in step S5Cwill be described on the basis of FIGS. 12, 13.

In the projection processing in this embodiment, a projected imageobject emulating a projected image of a spatial object in relation tothe surface of a terrain set within the virtual space is generated, theprojected image object is moved in accordance with the movement of thespatial object, and the magnitude of the displayed projected imageobject is modified in accordance with the position of the spatial objectwithin the virtual space and the position of a virtual light source setin the virtual space. When the distance of the spatial object from theterrain surface exceeds a reference distance, the magnitude of theprojected image object is held at a predetermined magnitude.

FIGS. 12A and B show an outline of this projection processing in avirtual space. As shown in FIG. 12B, in this competitive game, a playeroperates the controller to enable a light beam bullet OB serving as aspatial object to be fired from a weapon WP of the home character CRtoward an enemy character. The game device generates a shadow SD of thelight beam bullet OB to serve as a projected image object in accordancewith the distance between the position of the light beam bullet OB andthe earth ET and disposes (projects) the shadow SD on the earth ET. Theshadow SD moves in accordance with the movement of the light beam bulletOB. It is envisaged that the light beam bullet OB in this competitivegame shines, and hence the shadow SD is an image of light impinging on asurface rather than a dark image. A light source LS (a point lightsource, for example) is virtually disposed directly below the firedlight beam bullet OB, and the light irradiated from the light source inthe direction of the earth is used to alter the magnitude of the shadowSD in accordance with the position of the light beam bullet OB. Hence,as shown in FIG. 12A, the surface area of the shadow SD is controlled tobecome smaller as the height H of the light beam bullet OB from theearth ET increases.

In conventional games, shadow projection processing is performedregardless of the height of the spatial object from the earth. In thisembodiment, however, the game device performs processing to prevent theshadow SD from becoming too small by providing the height H of the pointlight source LS with a limiting value H_(LIM) such that when the heightof the light beam bullet OB exceeds the limiting value H_(LIM), thepoint light source LS is separated from the light beam bullet OB.

This processing will be described on the basis of the flowchart in FIG.13. First, the game device updates the height H from the earth ET andfiring direction of the light beam bullet OB at each processing cycleusing operating information, information regarding the position of thecharacter CR, information regarding the orientation of the arm part ofthe character, and so on (step S61). The height H and height limitingvalue H_(LIM) are then compared (step S62), and if H≦H_(LIM) (YES), animage of the shadow SD serving as the projection image object isgenerated at a magnitude corresponding to the height H of the light beambullet OB and projected onto the earth ET (step S63). If, on the otherhand, H>H_(LIM) in step S62 (NO), the light source LS is held at theheight limiting value H_(LIM) and the shadow SD is projected at themagnitude that is projected from the height limiting value H_(LIM) (stepS64). According to this processing, when the height H of the light beambullet OB is within the height limiting value H_(LIM), as is the casewhen the height H of the light beam bullet OB is at H1 or H2 in FIG.12A, the shadow SD of the light beam bullet OB is projected graduallysmaller as the height of the light beam bullet OB increases. However,when the light beam bullet OB travels in excess of the height limitingvalue H_(LIM), as is the case when the height H of the light beam bulletOB reaches H3, the shadow SD of the light beam bullet OB is projected ata fixed magnitude with a surface area corresponding to the heightlimiting value H_(LIM). By means of this processing, the shadow SD ofthe light beam bullet OB is prevented from becoming indefinitely smallerin accordance with the height of the light beam bullet OB, and thus theplayers do not become unable to perceive the shadow. Hence, according tothis embodiment, the players are able to follow the trajectory of alight beam bullet OB easily by the presence of the shadow SD even whenthe light beam bullet OB is emitted from a height.

(Automatic Leader Setting)

Next, the automatic leader setting processing that is executed in stepS5D will be described on the basis of FIGS. 14, 15.

This automatic leader setting processing is performed in a communicationgame system constituted to be capable of implementing a competitive teamgame with at least two players forming one team, to determine therelative strength of each team playing the competitive game according towhether or not a leader character specified as a leader by each team isactive. If it is determined that the leader character is active, theteam to which the leader character belongs is judged the winner.

In a team competition, the outcome of the game is usually determined atthe point where all of the characters on one team have been eliminatedsuch that the number of remaining characters reaches zero. Bydetermining the outcome according to these conditions, however, too muchtime may be required to reach the conclusion of the game. Hence in thisembodiment, one leader character (representative) is automaticallydesignated by the game device from among the characters belonging toeach team, and the team whose leader character remains alive last isdesignated as the winning team regardless of whether the charactersother than the leader are alive or dead. In so doing, the time requiredto conclude the game is shortened, and the amount of calculationprocessing for determining the conclusion can be greatly reduced.

This automatic leader setting processing will be described on the basisof FIG. 14. First, before the game begins, the game device designatesone of the characters belonging to each team as a leader (step S51).Information regarding the character designated as leader is shared amongthe game devices participating in the competitive game throughtransmission and reception. When the competition begins (step S52),competitive game processing proceeds. When it is judged from the gameprocessing relating to one home character that the leader character ofthe opposing team has been eliminated (step S53, YES), the game devicejudges that the team to which its home character belongs has won, andperforms the corresponding processing. If it is judged that the leadercharacter of the team to which the home character belongs has beeneliminated (step S53, NO; step S54, YES), the game device judges thatthe team to which its home character belongs has lost, and performs thecorresponding processing. This processing continues as long as the gameproceeds (step S55, NO). By means of this automatic leader settingprocessing, judgment of the outcome of the game is limited to thesurvival of the character designated as leader. Hence calculations toadd up the total fighting strength of all of the characters or theremaining number of characters are unnecessary, thus lightening thecalculation load. Moreover, the time required to conclude the game canbe reduced.

If a constitution is provided whereby a stage at which an outcome isdetermined can be executed multiple times for each competitive game, thecharacter designated as leader may be switched automatically at eachstage. When such a constitution is provided, the game device varies theleader character in the game at each stage. The leader character mayalso be rotated within a team, or the leader characters for all of thestages may be allocated prior to the beginning of a competitive game. Byallocating the leader in advance, processing time for designating aleader character at each stage can be reduced.

When the leader is switched at each stage, the game device may beconstituted to-automatically re-designate the leader character with thebest results through the previous stages in the final stage. In otherwords, the game device designates the character (player) with thehighest winning percentage of the team, according to the scoreline ofthe current card, as the leader character only in the final stage. Here,recording means for recording the winning percentage of each characteror the winning percentage as a team are provided to determine thecharacter or team with the highest winning percentage. Note that theprocessing for designating the character with the highest winningpercentage as leader may also be executed in stages other than the finalstage.

A specific example of automatic leader setting processing will bedescribed on the basis of FIG. 15. The outcome of this competitive gameis set to be determined over three stages (game, match) such that thefirst team to win two games is judged the winner. In FIG. 15A, team A,playing with the leader character P1, wins the first match, and team B,playing with the leader character P4, wins the second match. Hence thescoreline at the third match is a 1-1 draw. At the start of the thirdmatch, the game device reselects the character who served as leader whenthe team won as the leader for both team A and team B. In other words,P1 in team A and P4 in team B are set automatically to serve as therespective leader characters. According to this processing, the finalcompetition is played between teams headed by strong leader characters,and thus a sufficient level of game tension and excitement can beprovided in the final stage.

Note that this processing is closely related to fighting strengthbalance adjustment processing. More specifically, when the physicalstrength of a character in one of the teams other than the leadercharacter is damaged by an enemy character, for example, and therebydecreases, the leader character may distribute his/her own physicalstrength to the character with reduced physical strength. According tosuch processing, disadvantages caused by imbalances in the number ofcharacters are eliminated and the player manipulating a fallen characteris given an opportunity to return to the game. As a result, even aplayer whose character is damaged can remain interested in the game.

(Relative Strength Judgment)

Next, processing for judging the relative strength of the teams, whichis executed in step S5F, will be described on the basis of FIG. 16.

The relative strength judgment processing of this embodiment isperformed in a communication game system constituted to be capable ofimplementing a competitive team game with at least two players formingone team to determine the relative strength of each team playing thecompetitive game on the basis of the total fighting ability within theteam. More specifically, the proportion of a maximum fighting abilityvalue of the character manipulated by each player in the competitivegame that is occupied by a current fighting ability value thereof iscalculated, and this proportion is totaled for each team to determinethe relative strength of the teams.

This relative strength judgment processing is suitable for a game inteam competition mode. In other words, this processing can be used tocompare among the competing teams the total game strength of each team,that is the physical strength and power thereof.

Each game device stores a maximum value of a parameter, for example aphysical strength parameter, indicating the fighting strength given toeach character belonging to each team. Each game device calculates thecurrent physical strength value of each character from operationinformation, movement distance information, and the state of damagerelating thereto. The game device then calculates the proportion of thecalculated physical strength value to the maximum physical strengthvalue (100%) stored in advance for each character.

FIG. 16 shows an example of this calculation. In this example, twocharacters belong to team A and team B respectively. When thecompetition ends, first the game device calculates the proportion of thecurrent value of a physical strength evaluation to the maximum value.For example, the current values of a physical strength evaluation of thecharacters P1 and P2 of team A are 48% and 70% respectively, and thecurrent values of a physical strength evaluation of the characters ofteam B are 60% and 38% respectively. Next, the game device adds up thetotal current physical strength values of each team to thereby calculatea total team value. Here, the total team values of team A and team B are118% and 98% respectively. Finally, the game device compares the totalvalue of each team to judge their relative strength. Here, it isdetermined that team A, which has a higher total value, is superior.

Note that the total value of each team is displayed on the game screenin real time as a gauge or numerical value. A life meter illustratingthe proportion of the current physical strength value of each charactermay be displayed together with the total value.

(Semi-transparentizing Processing)

The semi-transparentizing processing executed in step S6 of FIG. 4 willbe described on the basis of FIGS. 17, 18.

In the semi-transparentizing processing of this embodiment, a pluralityof display objects having at least a partially overlapping relationshipwithin the virtual space are specified, the surface areas of theplurality of display objects when displayed as game images are compared,and he display object with the smaller surface area according to thiscomparison is made semi-transparent. Further, a game image is generatedin which the semi-transparentized display object is disposed in frontfrom the line of vision of the game image.

This semi-transparentizing processing is suitable for displaying a statein which a structure (building posts, the bottom surface of a ship, orsimilar) serving as an object to be displayed is wholly or partiallysubmerged in water, for example.

This semi-transparentizing processing will be described on the basis ofthe flowchart in FIG. 17. The CPU 301 performs the processing of FIG. 17at each update cycle, as shown in FIG. 4. First, the game devicedetermines whether an object such as a structure overlaps another objectwhen seen from the viewpoint using a well-known overlap determinationmethod. As a result, objects overlapping each other and requiringsemi-transparentizing processing are specified (step S71). Next, thegame device compares the surface areas displayed on the game image ofthe two specified objects, for example (step S72). As a result of thiscomparison, the CPU 301 commands the VDP 310 to performsemi-transparentizing processing on the object with the smallerdisplayed surface area (step S73). In response thereto, the VDP 310performs semi-transparentizing calculation processing on a part of thetexture applied to the specified object by adding and multiplying thecolor elements of the pixels of this texture and the texture of theobject behind the specified object, for example. The CPU 301 alsocommands the VDP 310 to dispose the semi-transparentized object on theviewpoint side (step S74). As a result of this processing, when a postPL is illustrated partially submerged below the sea SE as shown in FIG.18A, the displayed surface area of the post PL object is small. Hencethe post PL is subjected to semi-transparentizing processing and thetexture of the post PL is disposed on the viewpoint side. In otherwords, the texture of the sea SE is disposed behind the texture of thepost PL. When the two objects are displayed overlapping upon display ofthe game image, the color of the sea SE is made to appear partiallytransparent through the texture of the post PL at the overlapping partPL′ of the two objects, and hence the part PL′ of the post PL can bemade to appear actually submerged in the sea SE.

In conventional examples, semi-transparentizing processing is sometimesimplemented by performing calculations on the entire textureillustrating the sea SE, causing large amounts of calculation. In thisembodiment, however, the object with the smaller semi-transparentizingprocessing load is selected, and thus the amount of calculation forsemi-transparentizing processing can be suppressed while maintainingsemi-transparence.

(Data Communication with Other Game Devices)

In this embodiment, when a predetermined event occurs, the respectivegame devices transmit data indicating that this event has occurred tothe other game devices implementing the competitive game, and receivedata from another of the game devices. Game processing is then executedon the basis of the received data, whereupon data indicating the resultsof the processing is transmitted to the other game devices. A game imagebased on the processing results is then generated. More specifically,when an event which is detrimental to the game device on the receptionside (for example encountering an attack or the like) occurs, the CPU301 transmits data indicating that this event has occurred to thereception side game device before implementing processing in the gamedevice.

For example, in the transmission and reception of step S3 in FIG. 4,data indicating that an event has occurred are transmitted from the gamedevice that caused the event to the other game devices (of both theallied team and the opposing team) before processing based on the eventis performed in this game device. The other game devices then performgame processing on the basis of the event indicated in the transmitteddata and generate a game image based on the processing result which isreflected on the game screen of the game devices (for example displayingan explosion scene).

Also in this embodiment, data indicating the processing result, whichare transmitted from the game devices in response to an event occurringin another game device, are received by all of the other game devicesimplementing the competitive game, whereupon a game image based on theplurality of received processing results is generated. Morespecifically, the event is acknowledged by the reception side gamedevices, whereupon the actual game processing (for example explosionprocessing) is performed, and the processing result is transmitted backto the transmission side game device. In so doing, even when a delayoccurs in communication processing and an opponent character manipulatedby a reception side game device moves during the delay, processing isperformed in the reception side game device such that the character isexploded after the event (explosion or the like) is processed and it isdetermined that an attack has been encountered. Likewise in thetransmission side game device, even if the opponent character movesduring the delay, as long as the aim of the attack is accurate, theopponent character can be toppled with certainty. Hence the playeroperating the transmission side game device can obtain a more favorableresult than is recognized from the actual displayed game image, andstress caused by transmission and reception delays does not occur. Inthe reception side game device, a character is not toppled due to atransmission delay, and hence even when a less favorable result than thesituation displayed on-screen is obtained, this result is acceptable.

Here, the data indicating that an event has occurred in the game devicesmay include at least information specifying the game device which causedthe event and information indicating the content of the event.

Further, when data indicating that an event has occurred are received inthe game devices, a game image corresponding to the game device whichcaused the event and the content of the event is generated, and the dataindicating the processing results may include at least informationspecifying the game device which caused the event, the content of theevent, and the results of processing in the game device in response tothe event.

This delay preventing processing will be described on the basis of FIG.19. In this example, it is assumed that the game devices 1A to 1D shownin FIG. 1 are conducting a competitive game with each other.

As shown in FIG. 19A, when the game device 1A enters a situation inwhich the game must be advanced on the basis of a certain event, eventoccurrence data a indicating the content of the event are transmitted toeach of the other game devices 1B, 1C, 1D.

Next, as shown in FIG. 19B, having received the event occurrence datatransmitted from the game device 1A, the game devices 1B, 1C, 1D processthe received data to obtain processing results ab, ac, ad, whereupon animage based on the results is reflected on the respective game screens.

Next, as shown in FIG. 19C, the game device 1A receives the processingresult data ab, ac, ad indicating the processing results obtainedthrough processing performed by the other game devices 1B, 1C, 1D.

As shown in FIG. 19D, the game device 1A confirms the reception of theprocessing result data from all of the other participating game devices1B, 1C, 1D, and then executes processing based on these data and theevent occurrence data a. Data delayed by a fixed time period aredisplayed while data aa indicating the results of this processing arecreated, and if necessary, the data aa are transmitted to the other gamedevices.

Similar data transmission and reception, and reflection of the data inthe game, are performed in the other game devices 1B, 1C, 1D. Morespecifically, although not shown in the drawing, the other game devicesalso transmit their own event occurrence data to the remaining gamedevices, and the remaining game devices receive these data. Gameprocessing is then executed on the basis of the event occurrence data,whereupon the processing results are transmitted back to the game devicewhich transmitted the event occurrence data. When the game device whichtransmitted the event occurrence data receives all of the processingresult data, game processing is executed and final processing resultsbb, cc, dd are obtained.

By means of this processing series processing, all of the game devices1A to 1D are able to display substantially synchronous game screens.

Compared to a conventional method in which an event occurring on adevice is processed on that device and then the other devices areinformed thereof, in this embodiment delays caused by processing timehave no effect on the display on the other devices, and even when a gameprogresses quickly, operations performed by a player and correspondingchanges in an opponent character (an explosion or the like) are notdisplayed out of position, thereby eliminating any sense of incongruity.In short, a game device which receives data can quickly reflecton-screen results which have an effect on the game screen of thatdevice.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the present invention, various advantages can be obtained.

According to the automatic viewpoint setting processing described above,a game device moves the viewpoint position within the space to the rearof the home character in accordance with the position or movement withinthe virtual space of the characters to be included in the field ofvision. Hence the viewpoint position set in accordance with the homecharacter is automatically corrected, and the required characters can beincluded within the field of vision with certainty.

At this time, the viewpoint is moved within a range in which thedistance between the viewpoint and the home character is within apredetermined distance, and thus when a field of vision in which thisdistance is too long, and which is therefore too wide, is no longerrequired, the viewpoint position is automatically returned to anappropriate distance. Hence a screen having a sense of tension andexcitement can be provided at all times.

Also at this time, the viewpoint is moved at a predetermined speed,thereby preventing rapid screen changes which are difficult to see andcause a sense of unpleasantness. Viewpoint movement is also limited to arange in which the home character can be recognized, and thus a playercan concentrate on the game without losing sight of the home characteron the screen.

According to the fighting strength balance adjustment (auxiliary)processing of the present invention, the balance of fighting strengthbetween the teams is adjusted in accordance with predeterminedconditions relating to the balance of fighting strength between theteams playing the competitive game, and thus whether there is only oneplayer on each team, or whether an imbalance occurs in the number ofplayers on each team, the balance of fighting strength can be adjustedsuch that a team competition can be played enthusiastically.

When an imbalance occurs in the balance of fighting strength between theteams, the number of characters on each team is made to match, and thusan equal and fair game environment can be provided.

Further, weighting conditions are placed on the team having an advantageof a predetermined standard or higher in accordance with an imbalancearising between the teams during the course of the competitive game,thereby temporarily decreasing the fighting strength of the superiorteam. Hence the inferior team can be provided with an opportunity tomake a comeback, and a sense of tension can be provided to the game.

Further, in the course of a competitive game, one character in a teammay help another character, and thus aspects of team play and teamwork,which make real sports interesting, can be provided.

According to the projection processing of the present invention, whenthe distance of a spatial object from the terrain surface exceeds areference distance, the magnitude of a projected image object is held toa predetermined magnitude. Hence even when a light ray bullet is firedfrom a height, a player can easily follow the trajectory thereof usingthe projected image object.

According to the automatic leader setting processing of the presentinvention, the relative strength of the teams playing a competitive gameis determined according to whether or not a leader character specifiedas a leader of each team is active in the competitive game. Hence thestate of all of the characters need not be checked every time, and onlythe leader character need be checked, and thus processing fordetermining the outcome of a game is greatly reduced.

Further, the character designated as leader is switched automatically ateach stage, whereby processing for designating a leader many times canbe eliminated and the operating load on the player and calculation loadon the device can be lightened. Since the outcome of the game isdetermined according to whether the leader character is active, a gamestrategy centering on the leader character can be devised, enablingvariety in the game content. In the present invention in particular, aleader is set, the toppling of the leader is set as a condition forvictory, and when the physical strength of a character in a team otherthan the leader character decreases, the physical strength of the leadercharacter may be distributed to the character with reduced physicalstrength. Hence disadvantages caused by an imbalance in the number ofcharacters are eliminated, and the player manipulating a fallencharacter is provided with an opportunity to return to the game.

According to the relative strength judgment of the present invention,the relative strength of the teams playing the competitive game isdetermined on the basis of the total fighting ability within the team.Thus a state in which one team is superior can be determined at alltimes instantly. Conventionally, relative strength is determined byreferencing only the power of each character, but by this processing,the relative strength of the teams can be grasped instantly.

Further, the proportion of the current fighting ability value to themaximum fighting ability value in the competitive game is calculated,and this proportion is totaled for each team to determine the relativestrength of the teams. Hence processing is simple and the relativestrength can be grasped accurately. Moreover, the results of a judgmentof the relative strength of the teams may be used easily in otherprocessing such as strength balance adjustment processing and the like.

According to the semi-transparentizing processing of the presentinvention, the surface area of each of a plurality of display objects iscompared when the display objects are displayed as a game image, and thedisplay object with the smaller surface area according to thiscomparison is made semi-transparent. Thus the calculation load can begreatly reduced while ensuring semi-transparence.

According to the communication delay prevention processing of thepresent invention, when a predetermined event occurs, data indicatingthat the event has occurred are transmitted to the other game devices,processing results are transmitted in response from the other gamedevices, and then a game image is generated. Hence the display ofunnatural images based on processing delays that have been noted incommunication game systems can be prevented.

According to the present invention as described above, problems relatingto game screen display and judgments of the relative strength of teams,and problems caused by game data communication delays, which have beennoted in conventional communication game systems, can be amended,thereby reducing calculation processing, increasing speed, and improvingthe quality of a competitive team game.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodimentdescribed above, and may be modified in various ways within the scope ofthe patent claims.

1. An image processing method for displaying a spatial object positionedat a distance from a terrain surface set within a virtual space,comprising: calculating a position of the spatial object in the virtualspace with reference to shape data defining the spatial object;calculating a position of the terrain surface in the virtual space withreference to shape data defining the terrain surface; calculating aposition of a virtual light source on a terrain surface side of thespatial object; calculating a distance between the virtual light sourceand the terrain surface with reference to the calculated positions ofthe terrain surface and the virtual light source; calculating, if thedistance between the virtual light source and the terrain surface iswithin a predetermined reference distance, a size of a projected imagecorresponding to light from the virtual light source in relation to thedistance; setting, if the distance between the virtual light source andthe terrain surface exceeds the predetermined reference distance, thesize of the projected image to a predetermined reference size;calculating a position on the terrain surface a projected image objectfor displaying the projected image, based on the calculated size of theprojected image; and generating image data for displaying an image ofeach of the terrain surface, the projected image object, and the spatialobject, based on their respective calculated positions in the virtualspace.
 2. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein thespatial object is a light beam bullet fired by a character appearing ina game.
 3. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein thespatial object is a character manipulated by a player.
 4. The imageprocessing method according to claim 1, wherein the spatial object is aflying body with the virtual light source.
 5. A computer-readablerecording medium recorded with an image control program for displaying,on a computer, a spatial object positioned at a distance from a terrainsurface set within a virtual space, the program causing the computer toexecute: a function that calculates a position of the spatial object inthe virtual space with reference to shape data defining the spatialobject; a function that calculates a position of the terrain surface inthe virtual space with reference to shape data defining the terrainsurface; a function that calculates a position of a virtual light sourceon a terrain surface side of the spatial object; a function thatcalculates a distance between the virtual light source and the terrainsurface with reference to the calculated positions of the terrainsurface and the virtual light source; a function that, if the distancebetween the virtual light source and the terrain surface is within apredetermined reference distance, calculates a size of a projected imagecorresponding to light from the virtual light source in relation to thedistance; a function that, if the distance between the virtual lightsource and the terrain surface exceeds the predetermined referencedistance, sets the size of the projected image to a predeterminedreference size; a function that calculates a position on the terrainsurface of a projected image object for displaying the projected imagebased on the calculated size of the projected image; and a function thatgenerates image data for displaying an image of each of the terrainsurface, the projected image object, and the spatial object, based ontheir respective calculated positions in the virtual space.
 6. A gamedevice for displaying a spatial object positioned at a distance from aterrain surface set within a virtual space, the game device comprising:means for calculating a position of the spatial object in the virtualspace with reference to shape data defining the spatial object; meansfor calculating a position of the terrain surface in the virtual spacewith reference to shape data defining the terrain surface; means forcalculating a position of a virtual light source on a terrain surfaceside of the spatial object; means for calculating a distance between thevirtual light source and the terrain surface with reference to thecalculated positions of the terrain surface and the virtual lightsource; means for, if the distance between the virtual light source andthe terrain surface is within a predetermined reference distance,calculating a size of a projected image corresponding to light from thevirtual light source in relation to the distance; means for, if thedistance between the virtual light source and the terrain surfaceexceeds the predetermined reference distance, setting the size of theprojected image to a predetermined reference size; means for calculatinga position on the terrain surface of a projected image object fordisplaying the projected image, based on the calculated size of theprojected image; and means for generating image data for displaying animage of each of the terrain surface, the projected image object, andthe spatial object, based on their respective calculated positions inthe virtual space.
 7. An image control program embodied on acomputer-readable medium for causing a computer to run a game based onwhether or not a light source body that moves within a virtual space anditself forms a light source, and a character that moves on a virtualterrain provided in the virtual space by a player's operation hit eachother, the image control program comprising: means for calculating aheight of the light source body relative to the virtual terrain; meansfor, if the calculated height is within a predetermined range,calculating a size of a projected image of the light source bodyrelative to the virtual terrain based on the height; means for, if thecalculated height exceeds the predetermined range, setting the size ofthe projected image to a predetermined size; and means for generatingthe projected image based on the size of the projected image tocalculate a position of the projected image on the terrain surface.
 8. Agame device which is configured to display a spatial object positionedat a distance from a terrain surface set within a virtual space,comprising: a projected image generating module that generates aprojected image object emulating a projected image of said spatialobject on said terrain surface; and a projected image modifying modulethat moves said projected image object in accordance with the movementof said spatial object, gradually modifies the magnitude of saiddisplayed projected image object in accordance with the position of saidspatial object within said virtual space and the position of a virtuallight source set within said virtual space when the distance of saidspatial object from said terrain surface is equal to or less than apredetermined reference distance, and holds the magnitude of saidprojected image object at a predetermined magnitude when the distance ofsaid spatial object from said terrain surface exceeds the predeterminedreference distance.
 9. The game device according to claim 8, whereinsaid spatial object is a light beam bullet fired by a characterappearing in a game.
 10. The game device according to claim 8, whereinsaid spatial object is a character manipulated by a player.
 11. The gamedevice according to claim 8, wherein said spatial object is a flyingbody which follows said virtual light source.
 12. The game deviceaccording to any of claims 8 through 11, wherein said game device isconfigured to play a game and said game is a shooting game in whichcharacters manipulated by players shoot each other to compete forvictory.
 13. A computer-readable recording medium recorded with aprogram for causing a computer to execute a game method for displaying aspatial object which is positioned at a distance from a terrain surfaceset within a virtual space, comprising: a projected image generatingmodule that generates a projected image object emulating a projectedimage of said spatial object on said terrain surface; and a projectedimage modifying module that moves said projected image object inaccordance with the movement of said spatial object, gradually modifiesthe magnitude of said displayed projected image object in accordancewith the position of said spatial object within said virtual space andthe position of a virtual light source set within said virtual spacewhen the distance of said spatial object from said terrain surface isequal to or less than a predetermined reference distance, and holds themagnitude of said projected image object at a predetermined magnitudewhen the distance of said spatial object from said terrain surfaceexceeds the predetermined reference distance.
 14. The recording mediumaccording to claim 13, wherein said spatial object is a light beambullet fired by a character appearing in a game.
 15. The recordingmedium according to claim 13, wherein said spatial object is a charactermanipulated by a player.
 16. The recording medium according to claim 13,wherein said spatial object is a flying body which follows said virtuallight source.